Comparison of parental socio-demographic factors in children and adolescents presenting with internalizing and externalizing disorders

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to: (a) examine parental socio-demographic factors in children and adolescents referred to an outpatient service for internalizing and externalizing disorders, and (b) compare the demographic variables and diagnoses for the two diagnostic groups. Methods: Parents of all children who were referred to the child and adolescent outpatient service were asked to participate. Following their informed consent, they completed a socio-demographic questionnaire for themselves and a Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) for their child. The CBCL scores and the diagnoses assigned by the psychiatrists were then recorded for each child. Diagnoses were classified as internalizing or externalizing based on the primary DSM-IV diagnosis assigned by the psychiatrists. Data for the two groups were compared for study variables using Pearson correlation, t-tests, one-way ANOVA and logistic regression. Results: Children who had externalizing disorders tended to live with unemployed single parents who had lower education levels and lived in rented or assisted housing. Children with internalizing problems tended to live in owned homes with employed parents. There was no significant association between age or gender for either group. Conclusion: Previous literature has reported an association between low SES and more mental health problems; however, the relationship between different indicators of SES and diagnosis is not clear. Despite small numbers, our study revealed significant differences between the parental socio-demographic factors for externalizing compared with internalizing disorders.

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Socio-Demographic Factors and the Level of Teachers’ Motivation in Slovak National Schools in Hungary

Economic History ◽

10.15507/1991-9468.104.025.202103.387-400 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 387-400

Author(s):

Lucia Heldáková ◽

Mária Ďurkovská

Keyword(s):

Pearson Correlation ◽

Demographic Factors ◽

Teaching Motivation ◽

Ethnic Language ◽

And Gender ◽

Socio Demographic Factors ◽

Level Of Motivation ◽

First Time ◽

Ethnic Schools ◽

Type Of School

Introduction. The research paper seeks to identify the level of motivation of Slovak educators teaching in Hungary in the context of a low level of teachers’ motivation in Central and Eastern Europe. The aim of the paper is to show the relationship between socio-demographic factors (age, gender, type of school) and the degree of teachers’ motivation at Slovak national schools in Hungary. The results of research on motivation in relation to gender, age and type of school are shown to be inconsistent and yield varying findings. Materials and Methods. This paper is based on the data collected in the survey conducted in 10 Hungarian counties between January and April 2019, using a sample of 139 teachers of ethnic schools (monolingual, bilingual and schools teaching the ethnic language as a separate subject). We processed the obtained research results using methods of descriptive statistics and methods of inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient; Mann-Whitney U test; Kruskal-Wallis H test). Results. The results showed that there was no correlation between the teacher’s age and teaching motivation (p > 0.05). No statistically significant differences were found between gender and teaching motivation when using the Mann-Whitney test. Using a non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test, the existence of significant differences in the level of motivation of teachers working at various types of schools was confirmed. The research showed that teachers of bilingual schools were the most positive in relation to motivation, and the lowest average scores were achieved by teachers in schools where Slovak is taught as a subject. The age and gender of teachers were not significant in relation to the evaluation of the degree of motivation for teaching Slovak. Discussion and Conclusion. The results presented in the article will be beneficial not only for pedagogical researchers, but especially for Slovak teachers in Hungary, as research of this kind was conducted for the first time.

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Validating Screening Questionnaires for Internalizing and Externalizing Disorders against Clinical Interviews in 8 to 17-Year-Old Syrian Refugee Children

10.31234/osf.io/6zu87 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fiona McEwen ◽

Patricia Moghames ◽

Tania Bosqui ◽

Vanessa Kyrillos ◽

Nicolas Chehade ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Functional Impairment ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Externalizing Disorders ◽

Parent Report ◽

Health Problems ◽

Self Report ◽

Refugee Children ◽

Screening Questionnaires ◽

Internalizing And Externalizing

Syrian children affected by the civil war are at increased risk of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and externalizing behaviour problems. Screening questionnaires are designed to identify individual children who require further assessment and treatment, and also estimate the need for mental health services in a population. However, few questionnaires have been rigorously tested in this population. This study examined the reliability and validity of questionnaires for depression (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children, CES-DC, self-report, 10-item version), anxiety (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, SCARED, self-report, 18-item version), PTSD (Child PTSD Symptom Scale, CPSS, self-report), and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ, parent-report version) in a population sample of 8-17 year old Syrian children living in Informal Tented Settlements (ITS) in the Beqaa region of Lebanon. In addition, several ways of measuring functional impairment due to mental health problems were compared. These included self- and parent-report questionnaires (World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule, WHODAS-Child; SDQ Impact supplement, parent-report only) and an interviewer rating of severity (Clinical Global Impression–severity, CGI-s). Questionnaires were translated into Arabic and modified based on pilot testing with Syrian children. Responses from N=1006 children and caregivers were used for analysis, a subset of whom had additional clinical interview data (MINI KID + clinical judgement; N=119). The self-report questionnaires showed good internal consistency reliability with alpha>.80, though the parent-report SDQ and WHODAS-Child fell below this level. In terms of validity, the SDQ externalizing scale performed well in differentiating children with conduct problems from those without and it was possible to achieve a fair balance between sensitivity (82%) and specificity (71%). The CES-DC, CPSS, SDQ total difficulties, and WHODAS-Child (selfreport) achieved an acceptable level of validity, though it was harder to achieve a good balance between sensitivity and specificity. In most cases, at least 50% of those screening positive were false positives, meaning that a more in-depth follow up assessment would be required if these tools were used as screeners in a clinical setting. Furthermore, correctionwould be needed if used to estimate prevalence rates for mental disorders in this population. There was moderate convergent validity between measures of functional impairment, with self-report WHODAS-Child showing greater agreement with interviewer ratings when compared to parent-report measures (WHODAS and SDQ Impact). Measuring functional impairment and distress due to mental health problems should help to differentiate children with clinically significant mental health problems from those with subthreshold problems; however, more work will be required to establish how helpful the tools used here are in achieving that aim.

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Mood lability and psychopathology in youth

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291708004662 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 39 (8) ◽

pp. 1237-1245 ◽

Cited By ~ 84

Author(s):

A. Stringaris ◽

R. Goodman

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Community Sample ◽

Externalizing Disorders ◽

Self Report ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Co Morbidity ◽

Wide Range ◽

Significant Impairment ◽

Mood Lability ◽

Internalizing And Externalizing

BackgroundMood lability is a concept widely used. However, data on its prevalence and morbid associations are scarce. We sought to establish the occurrence and importance of mood lability in a large community sample of children and adolescents by testing a priori hypotheses.MethodCross-sectional data were taken from a national mental health survey including 5326 subjects aged 8–19 years in the UK. The outcomes were prevalence and characteristics of mood lability and its associations with psychopathology and overall impairment.ResultsMood lability occurred in more than 5% of the population of children and adolescents, both by parent and self-report. Mood lability was strongly associated with a wide range of psychopathology and was linked to significant impairment even in the absence of psychiatric disorders. Mood lability was particularly strongly associated with co-morbidity between internalizing and externalizing disorders, even when adjusting for the association with individual disorders. The pattern of results did not change after excluding youth with bipolar disorder or with episodes of elated mood.ConclusionsClinically significant mood lability is relatively common in the community. Our findings indicate that mood lability is not a mere consequence of other psychopathology in that it is associated with significant impairment even in the absence of psychiatric diagnoses. Moreover, the pattern of association of mood lability with co-morbidity suggests that it could be a risk factor shared by both internalizing and externalizing disorders. Our data point to the need for greater awareness of mood lability and its implications for treatment.

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The prevalence, comorbidity and socio-demographic factors of depressive disorder among Iranian children and adolescents: To identify the main predictors of depression

Journal of Affective Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.jad.2019.01.005 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 247 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mohammad Reza Mohammadi ◽

Seyyed Salman Alavi ◽

Nastran Ahmadi ◽

Ali Khaleghi ◽

Koorosh Kamali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Depressive Disorder ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Demographic Factors ◽

Socio Demographic Factors ◽

Iranian Children ◽

Predictors Of Depression

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Social behavior and youth psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study

10.31234/osf.io/y8zvg ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alexandra M Rodman ◽

Maya L. Rosen ◽

Steven William Kasparek ◽

Makeda Mayes ◽

Liliana Lengua ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Behavior ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Peer Relationships ◽

Internalizing Symptoms ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Longitudinal Design ◽

Well Being ◽

The Impact ◽

Internalizing And Externalizing ◽

At Home

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented changes to the lives of youth, including social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders resulting in a sudden and stark reduction in daily social interactions for children and adolescents. Given that peer relationships are especially important during this developmental stage, it is crucial to understand the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on social behavior and risk for mental health problems in children and adolescents. Method: In a longitudinal sample (N=224, aged 7-15 years old) assessed at three strategic time points (prior to the pandemic, during the stay-at-home order period, and again six months later), we examine the social lives of children and adolescents and whether certain social behaviors may protect against increases in internalizing and externalizing problems during the pandemic. Results: Youth who reported lower levels of in-person and digital socialization, greater social isolation, and less peer and parent support had heightened internalizing and externalizing symptoms during the pandemic, controlling for pre-pandemic symptoms. Youth who reported more social connectedness and increased use of digital socialization during the pandemic were less likely to develop psychopathology after experiencing pandemic-related stressors. In addition, children, but not adolescents, who maintained some socialization in-person were less likely to develop internalizing symptoms following exposure to pandemic-related stressors. Conclusion: Using a longitudinal design, we identify social factors that promote well-being and resilience in children and adolescents during this societal event. We provide practical recommendations to mitigate risk of psychopathology resulting from the dramatic changes in youths’ social experiences during the pandemic.

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Development of adaptable and flexible treatment manuals for externalizing and internalizing disorders in children and adolescents

Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1590/s1516-44462006000100013 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 67-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

José J Bauermeister ◽

Cheryl Y C So ◽

Peter S Jensen ◽

Orit Krispin ◽

Amira Seif El Din

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Externalizing Disorders ◽

Treatment Programs ◽

School Resources ◽

Care Providers ◽

Cultural Issues ◽

Treatment Manuals ◽

Internalizing And Externalizing

In this paper we describe the process used to develop treatment manuals for internalizing and externalizing disorders in children and adolescents. These manuals were developed to offer health care providers and others working in child mental health a flexible intervention that could be adapted to different countries and localities based on: 1) the amount of health care and school resources that are available; 2) the nature and severity of the types of problems children have; and 3) the preferences and cultural factors that are important within these communities. We also discuss the experiences and cultural issues faced by sites in Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, and Brazil who volunteered to implement the manualized treatment programs. The feedback received from these sites indicates that the manuals can be implemented to help children with internalizing and externalizing problems.

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Screen time and psychopathology: investigating directionality using cross-lagged panel models

10.31234/osf.io/q8tur ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Patricia Bado ◽

Júlia Schafer ◽

André Rafael Simioni ◽

Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan ◽

Ary Gadelha ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Screen Time ◽

Child Behavior Checklist ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Causal Effect ◽

Externalizing Disorders ◽

Parent Report ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Bidirectional Associations ◽

P Factor

Background: Screen time has been previously associated with mental health problems in children and adolescents. However, evidence on the topic has been controversial and is mostly from cross-sectional studies. Our study investigates the bidirectional associations between screen time and psychopathology using a longitudinal design.Methods: The sample consisted of 2,511 children and adolescents (6-17 years of age) from the Brazilian High-Risk Cohort for Psychiatric Disorders, evaluated in two timepoints 3 years apart. Psychopathology was measured by the Child Behavior Checklist, using bifactor models to estimate a measure of overall psychopathology (p factor). Daily screen time was acquired by parent report data. Data was analyzed using cross-lagged panel models.Results: Cross-lagged models revealed that higher overall psychopathology at baseline predicted higher screen time usage (β=0.144, p<0.001), but that screen time did not significantly predict psychopathology (β=0.020, p=0.073). Screen time was predicted by internalizing (β=0.316, p<0.001) but not by externalizing disorders (β= -0.067, p=0.242). Internalizing disorders predicted screen time significantly in both sexes (β girls=0.374, p<0.001; β boys =0.177, p=0.034), although this effect was stronger in girls than in boys (t=1.98, p=0.047).Conclusion: Our study suggests that psychopathology, mostly internalizing, influences screen time, but that screen time does not have a causal effect on psychopathology.

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Demographic and clinical characteristics of children seeking psychiatric services in the Nile Delta region: an observational retrospective study

International Journal of Mental Health Systems ◽

10.1186/s13033-019-0323-6 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mohammad A. Seleem ◽

Reham A. Amer ◽

Amr H. Romeh ◽

Hesham M. Hamoda

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Low Income ◽

Clinical Characteristics ◽

Nile Delta ◽

Outpatient Service ◽

Significant Risk ◽

Externalizing Disorders ◽

Psychiatric Services ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Delta Region

Abstract Background Epidemiological studies, describing both community and clinical samples of youth in need for psychiatric help, are rare in the middle east. To our knowledge, this is the first study that aims to investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics of a sample of children suffering from emotional and behavioral problems seeking psychiatric services in the Nile Delta region and the largest clinical sample to date in Egypt. Methods The files of all new cases who presented for care in the outpatient service for children and adolescents between August 2016 and July 2018 were reviewed. Ninety-six files were excluded due to missing data while another 18 files were found to be for adults (ages > 18 years old), so the sample included 886 cases. Results The ages of our sample (n = 886) ranged from 18 months to 18 years with an average of 7.5 (± 3.8) years. Most of our cases were male, school aged children, living within low-income households and predominantly coming from rural areas. The most common diagnoses were attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (22.6%), intellectual disability (ID) (13.7%), depressive disorders (13.3%), and disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) (12.3%). Strong protective effects were found for family integrity and stability. Corporal punishment and physical and sexual abuse were noted to be significant risk factors for internalizing and externalizing disorders in children and adolescents. Conclusions Except for males being a majority in our sample of children seeking psychiatric consultation, demographic patterns and prevalence of psychiatric disorders are comparable to other tertiary clinical samples in other parts of the world.

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